Spring shade-roller



(No Model.)

G. T. BRIGGS.

SPRING SHADE ROLLER.

N0. 300,841 Patented June 24, 1884.

WTJELESSES manner.

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GEORGE T. BRIGGS, OF CAMBRIDGEPOBT, MASSACHUSETTS.

SPRING SHADE-ROLLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 300,841, dated June 24, 1884.

Application filed April 30, 1884.

To aZZ whom it may concern Y Be it known that I, GEORGE T. BRIGGS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gambridgeport, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring Shade-Rollers; and I do hereby declare that the same are fully described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to that class of curtain or shade rollers provided with a spring for automatically rolling up the shade or ourtain, and having an automatic catch or locking device, which does not prevent the shade from being lowered by the hand or its being raised by the spring if moved rapidly, but which, if the shade is raised slowly, comes into action and prevents its further elevation.

My improvement consists in the construction of the catch or locking-piece and that portion of the spindle on which it operates, these parts being so shaped as to facilitate the engaging and disengaging of the locking device, and thus overcoming objections which are inherent in certain shade-rollers having a locking device of a similar character.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in section; Fig. 2, an end view with the ferrule removed. Figs. 3 and 4. are cross-sections on the line a y, (seen in Fig. 1,) which show the locking device as engaged and disengaged. Fig. 5 is a modification of my device.

a represents the shade-roller; 1), its spindle; 0, its spring, whose ends are attached to the spindle and roller, respectively, in the usual (I is the annular ratchet. e is the catch or collar-pawl. To the end of the roller a is secured the annular ratchet d. The spindle 1) passes through the central hole in the ratchet, and its flattened end engages the bracket, the ratchet and roller being free to revolve upon the spindle. That portion 1) of the spindle b which comes within the walls of the annular ratchet d is formed V-shaped, and is held inverted by a projection on the spindle end and a corresponding cavity in its bracket, in the usual manner, a collar, 6, having a V- shaped aperture corresponding to the spindle,

(No model.)

but of sufficient additional length to allow said collar to rise and fall far enough for the pawl e to engage and disengage the notch or opening in the ratchet d, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

I am aware that a gravitating catch or stoppiece in the form of a rectangular collar adapted to be slid over, and having bearings on the stationary spindle and arranged to play with-' in a recess in the roller end, is not new. In such constructionthe vertical flattened sides of the spindle are parallel with each other, and the sides of the aperture in the collar or pawl are also parallel. struction,practice has shown that as the shade is started down the incline on the ratchet- N ow, with this connotch, as it starts under the beveled corner of v the collar-pawl to raise it up out of the ratchet notch, swings the collar around on the spindle the amount of looseness or play there is between the collar and spindle, which is sufficient to cause the collar to cramp or bind on the opposite corners of the spindle to such an extent that unless the inner sides of the collar are carefully smoothed up, and the corners and sides of the spindle likewise, they will cramp together so hard that the ratchet-incline will not raise the pawl out of its notch by pulling on the shade, but will more tightly bind the parts together, thus making it impossible to draw down the shade. Of course this can be obviated by carefully smoothing up these contacting parts on each shaderoller; but it must be apparent that such smoothing entails great cost. Now, then, my improvement is especially designed to overcome this objection, as by making that part of the spindle on which the collar-pawl rests in the form of an inverted V and the aperture in said collar to correspond, I am able to use rough castings without any finishing or smoothing other than that given them at the foundry to remove the sand.

As will be seen in Fig. 4 of the drawings, as the shade is started down the incline on the ratchet raises the collar-pawl, and, owing to the inverted-V shape of the contacting parts of the collar and spindle, they commence to release themselves, or loosen from each other, at the first start of the collar to'lift, and con tinue to free themselves more and more as the l collar-paw1 is raised up by the incline of the ratchet.

I have described my device in its preferred 5 form, although it is susceptible of some modification, as shown in Fig. 5, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a spring shade-roller, the combination :0 of the inverted-V-shaped spindleb b, the collar-pawl c e, and the ratchet d, all arranged and operating substantially as shown and described.

2. The collar 6, formed with the V-shaped aperture and pawl 6, combined as shown and 15 described, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

r GEORGE T. BRIGGS.

. \Vitnesses:

ALFRED L. BARBOUR,

HORACE H. BURNs. 

